Uber seeks to extend brand reach with Barclays partnership

Smart brand managers always look for ways to extend their reach by partnering with companies that can either add value to existing clients or attract new ones.

Uber believes they have found such a partner in Barclays. Together the two are offering the Uber Visa credit card. Launched earlier this month and announced at the recent Money20/20 show in Las Vegas, the card’s perks include:

four per cent back on dining

three per cent on UberEATS, hotels and airfare

two per cent on online purchases

one per cent back on other purchases

Maximum $50 credit for online subscription services when the cardholder charges $5,000 to the card in one year

Maximum $600 mobile phone damage and theft insurance when the card is used to pay the monthly phone bill

No annual fee

No foreign transaction fees

Exclusive events like secret shows and dinner with top chefs

Cash back can be redeemed for a variety of gift cards through Barclays

Uber product manager Drew Quinn said the perks are a natural extension of the Uber experience.

Drew Quinn

“We’re really thinking about how to connect Uber to the world that you’re in, and the things you’re doing before and after a ride. The cool thing we can do from the Uber side is make the experience really contextual.”

Promoting the card within the existing Uber brand experience was a challenge because users don’t spend much time in the app, Mr. Quinn said.

During the design stage, they integrated the application experience natively into the app at different touchpoints, including in less intrusive spaces like at the bottom of the screen. Autofill capabilities make it easier to apply for the card while on a single trip. Quick approvals mean the user can immediately add the card to the Uber app and access UberEATS on the same trip.

Uber generates data on rides and dining choices, and combined with spending data from credit cards, it gives both companies access to detailed consumer data. Do they have safeguards in place to protect consumers?

“As of now, there is definitely a line of delineation between what we will share with Uber and what we will not share with Uber,” Barclays head of U.S. partnerships Kirsten Osland said. “Definitely no data is being sold.”

Uber will only see aggregate and not individual spend data, she added.

A two-time LendIt Journalist of the Year nominee and winner in 2018, Tony has written more than 2,000 original articles on the blockchain, peer-to-peer lending, crowdfunding and emerging technologies over the past seven years, making him one of the senior writers in the alt-fi sector.

"The evolution of the crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending scenes is absolutely fascinating to chronicle. It is a joy to be around people with such passion and vision."

Ari Gati is a co-founder, chairman and contributing writer of Bankless Times.

"The 2008 financial collapse was a wake-up call to begin looking at distributed crowd-based finance and become less dependent on banks. While the largest of banks have only gotten larger, we now have real viable alternatives in P2P lending, crowdfunding and digital currency that may very well reduce the impact of future downturns and capital freezes."